Complex esters and processes of producing same



, compositions;

oomnrx ss-rsas m mooessss or raonuomo sans Theodore F. Bradley-and William B. Johnston,

' v Stamford, Conn, aasignors to American Cyanamid Company, New York, iii. Y., a corporation v of Maine No Drawing.

" I 1o Claims.

This invention relates to complex esters; and

to methods oi producing the same. It is particularly concernedwith esters which are complex reactionproducfs .of .a terpene with an ester of iumaric' acid. and methods of producing the same.

As described in our copending application Se- Laevo alpha phellandrene 100 This mixture is heated and refluxed for about 1181 No. 215,584, flied-lune 24, 1938, entitled "E8- ters and methods of producing the same," iumarlc 1 acid is notreactive'with non.-eonjugated terpenes at the reaction temperatures usually employed in the production of alkyd resins or terpene-maleic anhydride complexes. 7

. An object 0! the present invention is to provide a means whereby'the inactivity oiiumaric acid toward the non-conjugated terpene hydrocarbons overcome and" thus a new and useful seriesoi. derivatives 'made' available for industrial purposes. a a

It is another object of this invention to provide a process by which the materials employed may be readily and eiiicientiy reacted to produce dicomplex esters which are formed during the re-' action that apparently involves the unsaturation of both the terpene and the tumaric acid. We have found that ii. esters of iumaric acid be reacted with one or more terpenes of the CmHu series, there results chemical interaction andv esters of relatively low acid number are formed in high yields without objectionable side reactions or de- The principles and practice of our invention will be more clearly understood by reference to thexamples given by way oi illustration and not in limitation. In each oi the following examples tumaric acid are placed in a reaction vessel. A

reflux condenser-and preferably also a water trap may be attached'to the reaction vessel. The mix.-

ture is agitated by any suitable means during the heating peration and the temperature of the reaction mixture is'held continuously at the reiiux point so that the excess ofunreacted terpene and about140+l60 C. and may then gradually'be raised to from about 100C. to about 210 C.

The exact temperatures used in each specific case, however, are initially subject to the boiling points of the reacting materials but gradually increase as the water of esteriiication is eliminated. In all cases the reaction mixtures are best refluxedimtil substantially all water evolution has ceased. Following this the excess of unreacted 60v for about twelve hours and the toluene isthen re-' Dimethyl iumarate muse... sepumm-iz, 1939,- Serial n access (cl. z'cc-zzy terpene' is removed under reduced pressure and V the resulting esters. are recovered for subsequent ..use,

Exmu: 1

Dimethyl fumarate..

- ten hours. The unreacted phellandrene is removed !rom the ester by distilling the former under reduced pressure e. g. 1-3 mm. (of mercury).

A somewhat viscous, balsam-like to solid resin is lett as a residue from this distillation. This resin has a saponiiication equivalent of about EXAMPLE 2 1 1 I Parts ,by weight Dipentene 100 W This composition is heated and refluxed with agitation tor, about four to six hour and then the unreacted dipentene is removed by distillation undervacuum at 2-3 mm. pressure. Alight-colored balsam-like resin of relatively low acid num- 25 her remains. i

f w Parts by weight -l"umaric aci 'lriethyl glycol... 480

Dipentene A 200 The iumaric acid and triethylene glycol are heated'together, preferably under an inert atmosphere such as carbon dioxide, for about two to three hours at about 200 C. A light-yellow ester resin having an acid number about 70-75 is obtained. About 250 parts oi this esterresin are reacted with the dipentene under azeotropic conditions and about 2.7 parts by weight of stannic the stipulated amounts of wane and ester of chloride dioxanate are added as a catalyst. The

yunreacted terpene and any other volatile matter is removed by distillation at 1-2 mm. pressure at about 200C. About 0.95 mol of terpene comblues with the ester per mol of the i'umaric acid mvalent. The'flnal product is an amber-colored. balsam-like complex ester which is'suitable "for use in coating compositions. adhesives; etc.

* Exsurm: 4

Preparation o) dibutyl fumarate These substances arejreacted azeotropicaily, I

the toluene being an inert diluent to assist in efiecting the azeotropic distillation and separation of the water '01 reaction. The mixture is refluxed Parts by weight glycerol, monoaryl or alkyl ethers of moved by distillation leaving the dibutyl fun rate ester as a water-white liquid residue which distills at about 110-111 C. at about 1-2 mm.

of pressure. This esterhas a saponification number of about 488.

' Exmu: 5

, Parts by weight Dibutyl fuinarate 114 Dipentene 4 s Stannic chloride dioxanate 1.35

This composition is refluxed under the general conditions as previously described for about fourteen hours and the excess dipentene is removed from the resulting product by distilling under ter is obtained having a relatively low acid number.

Other esters of fumaric acid may be substitutethanol, propanol, isopropanol, amyl alcohol, allyl alcohol, cyclohexanol, benzyl alcohol, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, the polyethylene glycols or mixtures thereof (e. g, tetraethylene glycol, pentaethylene glycol, hexaethylene glycol, heptaethylene glycol, octaethylene glycol and dodecaethylene glycol), polymethylene glycols (e. g. decamethylene glycol), octadecandiol, 2,2 dimethyl propanediol-1,3; 1,3 butanediol; 1,2 propanediol; 2-ethyl, 2-butyl butanediol-1,3;

ly r polyglycols and polyglycerols.

Furthermore, various mixtures of esters may be used ,or mixed esters, i. e. esters having two or more ester groups and connected to diiferent alkyl groups. It is especially desirable. in some ters, the esters being derived from alcohols having different numbers of hydroxyl groups e. g. a monohydrlc alcohol and'a dihydric alcohol, or a mono or dihydric alcohol with a higher polyhydric alcohol such as glycerol, etc. 'lhe'properties of the products resulting from the reaction of a terpene hydrocarbon with fumaric esters will vary according to the type of alcohol from which the fumarlcester is derived. Thus liquid products are generally obtained from the monohydric alcohol derivatives while balsamalkylgroupsattachedtothefumaricesterwe ma produce a large number of new derivatives having a wide range of properties thereby furuses.

In general our terpene resins are more soluble in hydrocarbons'than the phthalic type of alkyd resins- By s ig t modification of our resins it is possible to obtain resins having a high degree of oil solubility, quick air drying properties, etc. One way is to incorporate small quantities of fatty oil acids and enough glycerol or other desired alcohol to combine therewith in the comvacuum at about l2 mi'n. pressure and at about 160-180 C. A light-colored, viscous complex es-- ed for those employed in the examples set forth above such as esters of the following alcohols:

instances to use mixed esters or mixtures of eslike-or solid resins are obtained from the polyhydric alcohol derivatives.

If esters of the higher polyhydric alcohols which are resinous materials be used, particularly good results are obtained by using an'acid ester and adding an alcohol, preferably the alcohol corresponding to that from which the ester is derived, to the reaction mixture. It is also desirable to control the temperature to avoid overheating and to use a suitable catalyst. The temperature'should be raised slowly to about 140-180 C. and after the reaction has .procecded until the mixture is clear, the reaction temperature may be raised to about IMP-210 0. With the higher reactiontemperatures, however, premature gelation is most likely to occur.

Characteristic of thetproducts of'this inveiition is the substantial absence of esters of acids having a polybasicity greater than 2, wherefore the viscositles and softening points tend to be about TIT-210' C. for three to four hours, giv

ing a balsam-like polyester resin having a relaposition. After the initial reaction of the terpene and fumaric ester has taken place i. e. when the reaction 'mixture. becomes clear, about 20% or more of fatty oil acids (calculated as triglyceride), e. g. linseed oil acids, and a combining equivalent of an alcohol are added'to the mixture. It is especially important that the terpene and ester of fumaric acid be combined before the addition of any conjugated, unsaturated fatty oil acids in order to avoid reaction between the ester of fumaric acid and the conjugated fatty oil acids before the terpene has had sufllcient time to combine with the ester. It has been found advantageous in some cases to preheat the fatty oil acids before adding them to the reaction mixture.

If more than about 20% of fatty oil be desired in the final product. it may be added during the latter stages of reaction in the form of either fatty oil acids or as the oil itself, as desired. Since the oil is less expensive than the acids, it is usually preferable to add the oil itself rather than the acid. The addition of about 20% of fatty oil acids calculated as triglyceride in About 250 parts'of triethylene glycdl-fumari acid ester resin (as prepared in Example 3) are reacted with about 200 parts by weight of dipentene in the same general manner as in Example 3 in .the presence of about 2.7 parts by weight of stannic chloride dioxanate and about 13 parts by weight ofglycerol. The reaction is continued until the reaction mixture becomes clears After this initial reaction the second stage of a the reaction is begun at which time fatty oil acids may be added. Accordingly about 109 parts by weight of linseed oil fatty acids (alone or mixed with a solvent) which have been preheated to about 170 C. are added slowly othe reaction mixture. This quantity of fatty acids is equivalentto about 20%0! linseed oil based upon the amount of resin formed exclusive of the excess The reaction is continued at tively low acid number.

lower than the esters prepared from the maleicregulation of the reaction conditions we may vary. the combining ratio of terpene to fuinaric terpene adducts of the prior art. By suitable If it be desirable to incorporate more than about 20% of fatty oil acids, the additional amount may be added at this stage of the reaction. Accordingly about 120 parts by weight of acid within considerable limits. By varying the linseed oil may beadded to the polyester resin nishing products suitable for diverse industrial obtained above, the temperature of both the fatty oil and the polyester resin being maintained ing oil, particularly if the resin is to be used in air drying coating compositions. For this pur- I pose we have found that'linseed oil and linseed oil fatty acids are especially suitable. The term drying oil is intended to include semi-drying Y oils as well as the strictly drying oils.

Obviously various mixtures of fatty oils or fatty oil acids may be used. The resins produced by modification with fatty oils are usually quite soluble in hydrocarbon'solvents. -They are, therefore, particularly suitable for use in enamels, varnishes, lacquers, etc. I I

Another way in which the compositions of our invention may be modified in order to obtain oilsoluble products is by the addition of such substances as rosin acids, benzoic acid, etc. to the reaction mixture. If a conjugated compound such as rosin or tung oil acids (particularly beta eleostearic) is used, this addition is preferably made after all or nearly all of the terpene has combined with the ester of fumaricacid as other- Terpenes suitable for the purpose of this invention are limited to those of the CIOHIG series.

Whilev our ester process" is eminently suitable I for reacting non-conjugated terpenes since these are normally non-reactive with fumaric acid, it

is also useful in the reaction of conjugated terpenes. Terpenes which we have found are particularly suitable for use alone or in admixture are alpha and beta pinene, the limonenes, dipentene, terpinolene, alpha and beta phellandrenes, alpha terpinene, A p-menthadiene and myr cene- It isalso possible toluse gum turpentine or steam distilled wood .tu entine in place of alpha pinene or of other nod-conjugated terpenes withjentirely satisfactory results. The use of turpentines or distillates rich in pinene is especially advantageous for economical. reasons. Similarly the use of commercial distillates containwise the modifying substance may combine with the fumaric ester before the latter has had time to combine with the terpene.

Inoperating our process we have found it advisable although not essential to employ sufiicient excess of the terpene over the combining equivalent for the ester of fumaric acid so that this ex-' cess of terpene during its volatilization may act mechanically and perhaps azeotropically to assist in the removal .of any water which may be formed. When operating in this manner, the re action vessel is best equipped with a suitable reflux condenser and water trap arrangedso that the condensate may be separated continuously, the-water retained or separated and the excess terpene returned to the system until the desired degree of addition reaction and of esteriiication have been attained.

In the operation ofour process it is sometimes possible andadvantageous to employ inert diluents in the reaction mixture. Among materials suitablefor this purpose may be mentioned benzene; toluene, xylene, ethylene dichloride or the like in place of an excess of terpene. These diluents may be removed from theproduct by distillation or if desirable the compatible diluents may be left with the resin as solvents.

We have also found it possible to substitute a part of our terpenes with a corresponding amount of reactive non-terpene hydrocarbons and as well as other polymerizable, unsaturated bodies as, for.

- sulfon'ic acids. Of the various catalysts which a have been found to catalyze these reactions staning mixtures of terpenes which are r h in any of the afore-mentioned conjugated te enes may be used in place of the individual teq gne. Furthermore mixtures of conjugated and non-conjugated terpenes of the CmHis series may also be used. Among these there are a few commercial distillates which contain essentially alpha terpinene, dipentene, or terpinolene and which have a boiling point of between about and C. Products of this invention have been found to possess' great utility. The'liquid esters derived from the fumarates of monohydric alcohols may be used as plasticizers for nitrocellulose and in certain cases for ethyl cellulose or other cellulose esters or ethers. These esters may be hydrogenated to provide more light-stable products suitable for the same purposes. Our resinous polyesters are also' useful as resins or as resinous plasticizers for cellulose derivatives, particularly nitrocellulose. Many of the polyesters, such as are derived from the esters of polyhydric alcohols with or without fatty acid or drying oil modification, have been found to be oxygen-con- 1110 chloride, stannic chloride dioxanate and the sulfonic acids, e. g. p-toluene sulfonic acid are particularly suitable.

vertible and of considerable utility in air drying or in stoving paints, varnishes and enamels.

' Some of the products may be mixed withfsuitable fillers to produce linoleum and related plastics. Products of the present invention are also useful for printing or lithographing inks, gaskets, cements or adhesives and for general coating or impregnating purposes.

Such 'othersuitable changes and variations/2y may be made in carrying out our process without departing from the spirit and scope off our invention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

l. The reaction product of dibutyl fumarate and dipentene. l

2. The reaction product of dipentene with an ester of fumaric acid and a glycol.

3. A reaction product of a non-conjugated terrene-hydrocarbon of the CmHis series and an ester'oi' fumaric acid and an alcohol.

'4. A reaction product of a nonconjugated terpene-hydrocarbon of the CIDHIB series and'a glycol ester of fumaric acid.

5. A process for the production of ester condensationproducts which comprises heating to reaction temperatures a mixture containing non-conjugated terpene hydrocarbon of the fumaric acid and an alcohol, the temperature, time and other conditions being such as to bring about free and relatively continuous volatilization and r moval of water of condensation in admixture wi h unreacted terpene.

7. A process for the production of ester condensation products which comprises heating to reaction .temperatures a mixture containing a non-conjugated terpene hydrocarbon of the CIOHIS series and an ester of fumaric acid and an alcohol, the temperature, time and other conditions of reaction being such as to bring about free and relatively continuous volatilization and removal of water of condensation in admixture an alcohol, said heating being conducted at a. temperature and for a time suflicient to bring about chemical combination of the mixture.

9. A process for the production of ester condensation products which comprises heating to reaction temperatures a mixture containing a non-conjugated terpene hydrocarbon of the CwHw series and an ester of fumaric acid and an alcohol in the presence of an aromatic sulfonic acid catalyst. 10. A process for the production of estercondensation products which comprises heating to reaction temperatures a mixture containing a non-conjugated terpene hydrocarbon of the CmHw series and an ester of fumaric acid and an alcohol, continuing said heating until the reaction mixture becomes clear, adding fatty oil acid and continuing said heating until a homogeneous product is obtained.

THEODORE F. BRADLEY. WILLIAM B. JOHNSTONC 

